Eighty Five Percent
by jandralyn
Summary: This follows Edward and Winry's relationship starting two years after the Promised day. From awkward "proposals," and second first kisses, to marriage and children. Currently PG, but will move on to explicit as the story moves forward. My plan it to update once a week, two weeks at the least! R&R, and if you have an idea you think I should write, let me know! I am open to sugestion
1. Chapter 1

The atmosphere in the Rockbell household began taking on a strange mixture of emotions as noon crept closer and closer. From his bedroom, Edward could hear the now familiar sounds of the everyone's normal routine. He stood and stretched, taking a deep breath and smiling when the smell of breakfast made its way to him. He eyed the clothes he left unpacked for today and shrugged off the idea of getting dressed before he ate. He quickly headed out of his bedroom and he and Winry ran right into each other.

"Sheesh, watch where you're going gearhead."

"Shut up, Edward. You're lucky I left my wrench downstairs. I was coming to tell you breakfast is ready, you ass."

"Well let's hurry and get down there, then. You know how Al's been eating since he got his body back. We'll be lucky to have any food left if we take any longer." Since she couldn't argue with that she nodded in understanding. On the way to the kitchen, Winry remembered what else she was going up there to tell him.

"Hey, after we eat come down to the workshop so I can give your leg some precursory maintenance so maybe you can go more than a month without screwing it up to hell and back."

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Now let's go eat before I starve!" he exclaimed before sprinting the rest of the way down the stairs. Edward heard her mutter something along the lines of 'drama queen,' but was too hungry to care.

* * *

Talk at the table was centered around the brothers' upcoming trips, but soon died down into comfortable silence, which, of course Alphonse used as a way to pick on Edward.

"Yeah, although the trips are for research, they'll definitely offer some immense stress relieve for us. Not traveling for so long clutters up my mind." he has in a casual tone. His eyes betrayed his innocent act, leaving Pinako and Winry to wonder what he was playing at. Edward glared at his brother, but refused to let his mind wander to the talk he and Al had the night before. He swiftly kicked his brother's shin, being sure to use his automail leg so it would hurt more. Al glared back for a second before bursting into laughter, and Edward hurried to change the subject before anyone could ask questions.

Once breakfast was done, everyone headed their respective ways: Pinako made her way to her garden; Alphonse to his bedroom; and Edward and Winry down to her workshop in the basement.

"You know the deal. Strip and get up on the table." She said she she gathered her tools and gloves. He hopped up on the table, eager to get this over and done with, mainly because the "_precursory maintenance_" she always does on his leg involved detaching, cleaning, and re-attaching the nerve endings to the automail. Ed pouted slightly, still finding it awkward to have her practically between his legs while he was stripped down to his boxers. He did as he was told, though. He would much prefer feeling awkward and embarrassed over taking one of her wrenches to his head, and she had a whole arsenal down here.

She made her way over and sat on the stool in front of him. The two sat in silence, with her beginning to unscrew his leg. "I'm about to detach the nerves." she warned. He held his breath and winced at the sharp pain that shot up his thigh. She went about cleaning all of the crevices on the automail, checking for any stripped screws or signs of rust while he sat still. He watched her in silence, mesmerized by her skilled and sure movements. The way she handled automail came as easily to her as alchemy had come to him. Edward suddenly got the urge to run his fingers through her hair, but instead he gripped the edge of the table and turned his attention to the clock on the wall. He would need to be leaving within the next hour if he wanted to catch his train.

She disinfected the nerve sight, and he prepared himself for the re-attachment (and it made everything else seem only mildly uncomfortable). She put her hand on his upper thigh and warned him, but his attention was now focused on how close her hand was to his..-

"AH shit!" he practically screamed.

"Well, I did warn you. Now walk on it a little and let me know if a joint it too tight or too loose. He walked around for a minute or so before telling her it was just right.

The clock chimed, and Edward sighed. "I guess I better go double check my room and get dressed. The train will be here in an hour."

"Granny and Al are going to run errands today, so I'll head on into town with you." He nodded and was shooed out so she could clean up the workshop and then herself in peace.

* * *

After giving his room a final inspection, Edward was satisfied that he had packed everything he would need on his journey. He grabbed his bags, eager to get on the road, but before making it through his bedroom door, he paused and sat his bags down again and made his way to the nightstand near his bed. With a quick look over his shoulder to make sure he was alone, he pulled out the photo album Winry had made him for the first Christmas with their bodies being -_mostly-_ intact in five years. It had already been two years since the Promised day, and it seemed like time had flown by lately.

He turned his attention back to the book and skimmed through the pages quickly, pausing only at the family photo of his parents, brother, and himself. He continued flipping through the pages, and smiled down when he found the page he was searching for. He gently slid the three pictures out of the book, lightly tracing his thumb over them.

Walking over to his large bookshelf, he silently cursed at himself for letting it get so cluttered and unorganized. After a few seconds of glancing over the books, he spotted his volume on Xerxes and quickly grabbed it, sliding the photographs between the pages just as Winry appeared at his door.

"Hey, I'm ready whenever… are you still packing?! Geez, I should have figured. Whenever you get done we can head out." she said, leaving before he could reply. He rolled his eyes once she was a safe distance away and struggled to get his bags down the stairs.

Alphonse was leaving for Xing in a week, and Edward knew he would have a hard time adjusting to being without Al for the first time in his life. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by Winry standing up and stretching.

"Alright, all done." she said before tossing her mechanic gloves aside. "We should probably be heading out soon."

"Yeah, well my mechanic procrastinated with doing my maintenance. And she had the nerve to call me out for grabbing a book." He said with a smug smirk. The screwdriver that was suddenly flung at his head nearly hit him, and he put his hands up in a show of surrender.

He jumped off the table, testing the joins in his leg before bounding up the stairs.

"Come on, gear head. Don't wanna miss my train." he called, grabbing his bags and running out of the house.

"See ya later, guys!" He called as he passed his brother and Pinako.

The younger Elric brother was about to chase after his brother, but was stopped by a light hand on his shoulder. "What is it Granny?"

"Let him go alone, Winry is about to chase after the boy. Lets give them a chance to say goodbye." she said with a mischievous smile.

Alphonse nodded, understanding why they would need alone time. Winry suddenly raced past the kitchen, spewing threats at Edward the whole way. "You know, I'm beginning to think brother and Winry will never get out of this whole 'aggressive denial of feelings' stage." The old woman smiled at him.

"You're right Alphonse. They will never quit their bickering, but I believe they'll come to terms with their feelings sooner than we expect."

"Why do you say that?"

"Call it a woman's intuition." Al accepted her answer. She always had a way of knowing when things were about to go down.


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: **hey, look at me all posting a chapter on time. i'm proud of myself. i had so much fun writing this holy moley, man. since this chapter is basically a novelization of the end of chapter 108, i'll be posting chapter three sometime this weekend! thanks for reading and reviews are always welcome :)

* * *

The locals of Resembool passed by the couple on the bench, unphased by the one-sided conversation. Even those who didn't know the two personally had come to expect some sort of bickering when they were around one another.

"Make sure you keep it oiled every day!"

"Uh-huh."

"And keep those screws tight!"

"Uh-huh."

"Be sure to wipe off all the moisture whenever you take a bath!"

"Sure, sure."

"Hey, are you even listening to me?!"

"Uh-huh."

The pair on the bench jumped up suddenly, Edward from excitement and Winry from frustration. "Sheesh!"/ "Oh! Here comes the train!" they screamed in unison. Before Winry could continue giving the same instructions he had heard (and ignored) everytime he left, Edward turned to watch the train approaching and smiled excitedly. "Heh heh! It's so exciting! I can't wait to find out what secrets are waiting for me in the West!" The lack of travelling since the Promised day had begun getting to him, and he was ready to finally be doing _something_ productive. Winry's face fell into a sad smile and she was thankful he had his back to her. "Don't get too excited or you'll wind up breaking your automail and having to crawl back for repairs." Her tone of voice wasn't as playfully threatening as she had hoped, but Edward paid it no mind.

"You just want to milk me for money."

"Hey! I'm saying this for _**you**_-" she began to rant, but he cut her off.

"Sure, sure, then thanks for the advice."

She rolled her eyes, knowing nagging him was useless. He hadn't even taken care of his automail properly when he was depending on it in fights, so he sure as hell wouldn't start now.

As he headed to the train, she felt a pang of sadness in her chest. "Be sure to book an appointment before you bring it in for maintenance. "

"Yup" he called out before what she said dawned on him. He stopped in his tracks, thinking back to his talk with Al last night.

* * *

"_Why must you always pack the night before you head to the other side of the country?" Alphonse said in a tone that was somewhere between complaining and scolding. Without fail, Edward would wait until the last possible second to prepare for a trip._

"_Hey, give me a break, will ya? My mind has been nothing but a total clusterfuck the last few weeks."_

"_Language, brother." _

"_Yeah, yeah."_

"_You know what would probably take away 90% of your stress and confusion?"_

"_You're gonna tell me whether I say yes or no, so please, enlighten me." Alphonse could practically _feel _Edward rolling his eyes from the other side of the bedroom." _

"_Finally telling Winry how hopelessly in love you are with her, for starters."_

"_ALPHONSE WHAT THE HELL, MAN?" He practically shrieked, dropping everything he had been holding. He stood frozen for a moment and felt as if all of the blood in his body seemed to gather in his face, turning him as red as his jacket. _

"_Well, I heard no denial." He said, shooting his brother a mischievous smile. _

"_Just shut up and help me pack. She's my mechanic, not my girlfriend, you idiot." He exclaimed, hoping his brother would leave it at that._

"_The two aren't mutually exclusive," Al said before dropping the subject. He knew once he mentioned something, Ed wouldn't be able to get the idea out of his mind, which is what he was trying to achieve. He smiled smugly to himself, turning his attention to packing once again. _

* * *

"An appointment, huh?" He muttered under his breath as he turned to face Winry. The confused look she had on her face would've been _hilarious_ if he wasn't about to kill over from the sudden wave of awkward, nerve-racking embarrassment that just washed over him.

"Winry?" he began, having to force himself to stay put rather than retreating to the safety of the train.

Winry furrowed her brows, thoroughly confused by Ed's behavior; even for _him_, this was weird, which was really saying something. She almost laughed at how quickly his face had morphed from excitement such a dark shade of red.

Edward was still considering the idea of just turning and running into the train, but knew this was something he needed to do, not just for him, but for her as well.

"I was just thinking…" he stammered. Somehow every word he said made him feel more and more idiotic.

He cleared his throat, hoping it would keep his voice from shaking. After taking a deep breath he met her gaze.

"Uh.." he began, suddenly struggling to remember the english language. "About an appointment… or more like ah, more like a promise. Between us, y'know?"

The cryptic answers he was giving her only _added_ to her confusion. "What? Just say what you mean." How this boy..er, _man? _who could barely form a coherent sentence at the moment managed to get her to fall for him (even though this little detail was currently known by her and only her) was a complete mystery.

Edward shoved his hands into his jacket pocket, trying his best to keep from fidgeting.

"An equivalent exchange. I'll give you my life…" he managed to say before taking a deep breath.

"SO YOU GIVE ME HALF OF YOURS!"

For a moment, she stood there contemplating what he meant. An equivalent exchange? What could he...Once the realization dawned on her, she didn't know whether to laugh, cry, scream, or some mixture of the three.

"For the love of.. Why are alchemists always like that?!" she exclaimed, throwing herself up against the train in a fit of disappointment.

"Honestly, _the law of Equivalent Exchange?! _Are you really that big of a **moron?!"**

"WHAT?!" Edward shrieked, unsure of what her reaction meant. Had he just been rejected? What had he even meant by that? What did _he _even mean by his question? Before she even finished her sentence, he had accepted her rejection and had already began planning out faking his death and running away to Xing.

"You really are an idiot." Winry murmured and turned to face him, her face no longer portraying anger, and instead an emotion he couldn't quite place.

"I'll give you more than half. I'll give you all of it." The words had come out before she thought them through, and suddenly it was _her turn _to be the embarrassed one.

Edward's face hadn't moved on from the look of sheer astonishment.

"Wait, wait! Not _all!_" she covered her face in a failed attempt to think clearly.

"Umm.. 90 percent? No… Maybe 80? Or 70? No, 70 is too low. Maybe 85?"

At some point during her babbling Edward had erupted in a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?!" she exclaimed, her mood violently shifting from embarrassed to rageful.

He tried his best to quit laughing, he really did, and silently thanked whatever force of the universe kept her from bringing her wrench with her to the train station.

"No, sorry! Sorry!" he managed to blurt out between his uncontrollable laughter. "You really are amazing!" He calmed down a few moments later and managed to continue. "Turning the law of Equivalent Exchange on its head is easy for you!"

She met his gaze with her wide blue eyes, obviously unsure of how to feel. "What do you mean? Are you making fun of me?"

"No, I'm not." He said, his tone suddenly sincere.

Without warning, he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. After a second, she hugged him and smiled against his chest, extremely relieved.

He smiled at the fact that the smell of smell of grease and metal, the smell of _automail,_ seemed to be forever imbedded into her DNA. He knew it was something he would definitely miss, though he would never admit to it out loud. Even before now, he had always enjoyed walking through the armories and workshops around the military headquarters because the smell reminded him of home. _And of her, _he added as an afterthought, embarrassing himself. Edward suddenly felt homesick, and he hadn't even left the train platform yet. It had been over two years since the promised day, and this was his first long trip away since he got his arm back.

"You cheered me up. Thanks." he said, his voice serious. She responded by holding him tighter. He rested his head on hers, suddenly reluctant to leave.

The whistle blew, signaling that train was almost ready to depart. After a second Ed hugged her almost painfully, making her smile.

"I'm really gonna miss you, Win." He said, releasing her from his embrace. She watched him walk towards the train, feeling a another pang of sadness.

"Be safe, okay? And don't forget to call and write!"

He smiled at her and nodded. "I will and I won't, respectively."

"Now go, " she shooed, "you don't want to miss your train. And I was serious earlier about your leg! Don't abuse my precious automail!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you crazy gearhead!" he exclaimed, hurrying on the train before she could react.


End file.
